Latest News /
Interview

Nico Rosberg Q&A: Everything is possible on Sunday

Lewis Hamilton may have captured his fourth consecutive pole position, but team mate Nico Rosberg insists that victory is still within his sights in Barcelona on Sunday - particularly as starting second gives him a shot at stealing the lead before the field reaches Turn 1 for the first time. Ahead of the fifth race of the season, Rosberg spoke to the media about his prospects in Spain, and about the current state of his relationship with Hamilton…

Q: Nico, how is it going so far? Did the updates that Mercedes brought for this weekend do the trick?

Nico Rosberg: So far we can be very satisfied as a team with how Barcelona has gone for us. It seems we still have an advantage over the others - but then how can you ever be sure before the race?

Q: Seems that you and Lewis will fight each other for victory on Sunday again. What has to happen for you to be on the top step?

NR: If you look at it, somehow it did go a bit smoother for my team mate over the whole of Friday - in the morning I only did nine laps - and that can hurt over the course of the race weekend in terms of finding the ultimate balance that you want to feel really comfortable. True, Saturday morning was my turn, but race conditions are always something completely different, so let's wait and see.

Q: Where do you see your strengths - and where are Lewis's? What about weaknesses? It seems very likely that the championship will be decided between the two of you…

NR: Ha, I don't want to go into details about his strengths and weaknesses. Of course they are in my head, as I've known them since we were 13 years old - and they are still the same. Somehow it is so funny because we are in a pretty similar situation as we were back then. There are so many memories attached to it, and they are all popping up. It is like travelling back in time. Every day there is a sense of deja vu, which is really awesome!

Q: Could it be that you are more analytical than he is?

NR: Sorry, but I don't want to compare. But of course I try to analyse as much as I can as I hope - if I analyse right - to get an advantage out of it.

Q: You just said that you still don't feel one hundred percent comfortable in the car. After analysing the situation how do you go about getting comfortable?

NR: That is easier said than analysed - and done! (laughs) It's the set-up - and there are so many parameters that you can change that it is a science in itself. I hope we have found a good set-up solution for the race to counteract the tyre degradation that we expect at some point in the race.

Q: It seems that Barcelona - after China - is the second race where drivers have spoken about significant tyre degradation. How is it from Mercedes' side?

NR: Yes, it's true, there is quite a lot of degradation, but in this respect my feeling is that the set-up of our car can handle that quite well. My guess is that we have it under control.

Q: How important is it to have pole position here?

NR: It has more significance here as the chances to overtake at this track are clearly slimmer than at some other circuits. So I hope to have a better start than Lewis and, as the straight towards the first corner is pretty long, I hope to catch him there. And if not… well the race is long so there should be some chances that open up. So you see, everything is possible on Sunday.

Q: Your boss Toto (Wolff) predicted that Ferrari will be your biggest challengers on Sunday afternoon. What do you see?